At the end of my second day, I’d decided enough was enough. This was why I was helpful; hacking online was what I excelled at. I pulled out my laptop and started to do research, going off the memory of the half-baked leads Ana and Z had already investigated. Although I’d left a lot of my equipment back at the apartment, I could still get some stuff done from my laptop. If I could find a lead, it’d be a game-changer.
The next day, I worked nonstop on my laptop, running programs and searching through dark websites. My parents never called to check on me, which wasn’t surprising since they’d probably already forgotten I was there. The longer I worked, the worse my headache got. Leaving my computer to continue a search, I walked downstairs to find some painkillers for my headache. The pain had been a constant throughout the week, though some moments were worse than others. But it took away my focus when I needed it most.
While I was downstairs, Ana texted me, telling me another story about how she’d managed to piss off Roman. She started off by staying with Kallan but said things were a little strained between them because of, well, me, so she traded rooms at Olezka’s and had been driving Roman insane since she arrived.
I opened the fridge and stared inside of it.
“Well, what am I doing here?” I muttered with a sigh. I figured I should eat something since I probably hadn’t all day. When I got into research mode, or in this case, stalking mode, I forgot to take care of my most basic needs. Food, unfortunately, made it on the shortlist, which probably wasn’t helping my headache.
My parents had left a half-hour earlier to go to dinner with some of their friends and didn’t think to invite me along. While they weren’t bad parents by any stretch of the imagination, they never wanted kids. I was a surprise, and they dealt with me the best way they knew how. That meant, for the most part, they ignored me.
Just then, a piercing pain shot through my temple. I sucked in a sharp breath and pressed my fingers against the pulse. As I stood there in the light of the refrigerator, doubled over with pain, I heard the front door open with a creak. I blinked as my vision blurred.
“Mom? Dad?”
Maybe they had forgotten something?
When no one answered, worry twisted in my belly. I gripped the countertop and stepped around tentatively.
“Hello?”
Though we lived only a foot and a half from our neighbors on all sides, my parents didn’t socialize with any of them. I was certain they had locked the door and almost as certain that none of the neighbors had a key. Heck, I didn’t even have a key.
My gut screamed at me that something wasn’t right, and my instincts flared and seconded the motion. So why in the world I felt the need to call out again, I had no idea.
“Who’s there?”
I gripped my phone in my hand, ready to call for help. It depended on who rounded the corner. They weren’t taking the most direct route, which made me even more nervous. I knew someone was there, but I couldn’t hear them.
Another bolt of pain roared through my head. I yelped, unable to stop the sound. My muscles turned to jelly, and I dropped to the floor. My phone clattered as it hit the floor tile and bounced away from me.
“Fudge,” I gritted as the pain raged through my skull. Footsteps finally sounded, and my heart pounded in my chest.
“Tsk.” It was the only sound I heard before I saw a big black boot headed toward my head.
My vision swam once more before darkness overtook me.
Chapter 7
Anastasia
I peeked over the side of the building, looking down the alley at the small group that had gathered. Olezka grunted at me, reminding me that he wanted me to move back and out of sight. I rolled my eyes. These guys were way too protective. Kallan had already reminded me four times to keep my glamour up. A fae could see through my glamour, so I needed to remain still and vigilant. Sixx only got to see the less annoying sides of these guys. If she ever got the chance to go out in the field with them, she’d agree with me that they needed an excellent pranking or two to knock them down a peg.
I hoped I could rope her into helping me with one against Kallan when we got her back into the city. He had been the toughest nut to crack. I didn’t even want to try with Olezka half the time. He turned into an entirely different male when we were out on these missions. Especially when he thought Sixx’s safety was at risk.
“They’re moving.”
“Da. Quiet, I am listening.”
Kallan leaned closer to me, his tall, lithe frame pressing against mine. His body was hard as a rock, all muscle, not an ounce of fat on him. While he was lean, I had seen him fight and knew he was stronger than any human and certainly many paras.
Kallan uttered a spell in my ear, and my senses expanded even more than they already had. Suddenly, I could hear the werewolves below us as clear as day.
“Clark found the IP address and the physical address of the hacker who’s been tracking our movements,” one of them snarled. “That’s why we have to keep changing our plans. The Alpha sent two guys out to find the little rat and crush ’em.”
The other wolf asked, “Where is it coming from?”
“Craziest part is it’s from a little suburb town about four hours away from here. Grand Haven, I believe it’s called. Hopefully, he…”
The wolf droned on, but I stopped listening and stepped away from the edge. It couldn’t be! Sixx was smarter than that. She knew how to bounce her IP address around so people couldn’t find her. My two males continued to listen, but Olezka watched me intently. My heart pounded in my chest. There were no coincidences in life, and certainly not this specific, not when it involved Sixx, who I knew would be going out of her mind with boredom and worry over us.
I pulled out my phone and clicked on Sixx’s icon. It was a picture of us together, and I was kissing her cheek. When it enlarged on my phone, my heart shuddered in my chest again.
“Fuck, Sixx, what did you do?” I muttered as her phone rang and rang. Eventually, it went to her voicemail. I cracked my knuckles and tried calling her again. Sixx always answered her phone unless she was in the bathroom. I paced as it went to voicemail again.
A lead weight dropped in my stomach, and as my control wavered, my powers surged. Electricity crackled against my skin.
I started to pace, and when I turned, Olezka’s giant chest blocked my way. I didn’t have to crane my neck as far back as Sixx did to look up at him, but I didn’t like how he peered down at me. Those eyes were scarier than hell. But on the flip side, he looked at my best friend with such tenderness and love.
“Where is she?” he growled.
I gulped. That was not a tone of voice you wanted to fuck with.
“Ever heard of Grand Haven?” I said.
That motherfucker roared.
I clapped hands over my ears as he threw his head back and roared to the heavens. So, I guess he connected the dots. After he lost his mind for a moment, he immediately pulled out his phone. I knew who he was trying to call.
“I’ve called twice already, and she didn’t answer.”
“Would she be at dinner with her parents?” Kallan asked, watching us both closely.
“No.” Sixx’s parents weren’t bad people. I was envious of the fact that she had parents and knew, in their way, they loved her, but I also knew they weren’t the most attentive. She wouldn’t ignore a phone call from me or Olezka even if, on the odd chance, she was eating dinner with them.
“The wolves are on their way up here, thanks to you both,” Kallan said, casting a spell to produce himself a weapon. A trick he had yet to teach me, he claimed it was too advanced for my current skillsets. While I was making strides, I still had a lot to learn.
“We need to get out of here.”
Olezka turned to Kallan. “Create a portal. We will follow. And Anastasia?” When Z locked his scary-ass eyes with mine, I saw a demonic promise that made a shiver of fear work its way down my spine. “Protect her.”
“You�
�re not the only one who loves her,” I snarled, annoyed that he doubted the depth of the feelings I held for my best friend.
Without answering, his body started to morph into the beast form that radiated scorching heat, flames flickering over his body.
“Go!” His voice went from fierce to brutal, more animal than man.
Saluting him, Kallan created a portal for me to go through. I stepped through just as I heard a hair-raising growl. I didn’t know if it came from the wolves or the beast named Z, but I was glad to be leaving it behind.
I appeared in Sixx’s parents’ backyard. I didn’t want to appear right in front of them and scare them if they were having dinner, so I ran around the house to the front yard. The front door was open a crack, and Sixx’s car still sat in the driveway.
My heart pounded in my ears as I ran into the house.
“Sixx?”
When no one answered, I pulled out my phone to call her again. Maybe, just maybe… But my hope was dashed when the familiar feel of magic brushing over my skin hit me almost like little sparks of static electricity. The fine hairs on my neck stood on end.
“Sixx?” I screeched this time, unable to hold back my fear. I rushed through the house, peering frantically into each room. She wasn’t in the living room or the kitchen. I heard a buzzing sound and followed it behind the island. On the tile, her black phone buzzed and jumped as I tried to call her. I dropped the call and ducked down.
Static electricity burst across my skin again, causing goosebumps to rise.
“Well, that’s no good,” I muttered as I straightened. Searching the room, I knew magic had been used here. It felt similar to mine and Kallan’s, yet different in a way I couldn’t explain. While our magics had a familiar ring to it, this magic was off.
I pulled out my phone, clicking Kallan’s name before pressing it to my ear. I kept my attention on the room, waiting to see if I could detect where the magic originated.
“How’s it going over there?” I asked, trying to remain calm.
“What’s wrong, Anastasia?”
“How far away from the big, scary guy are you?”
“I’d recommend you speak quickly because he is currently incapacitating the last werewolf on his own,” Kallan answered carefully.
Jeez, I’d been gone all of what? Five minutes?
“Quickly, Anastasia.”
“She’s gone,” I croaked. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew Sixx was in danger because of her connection to me. When we first started our little adventures by stopping paras from harming humans, she was smart and safe. We promised to have each other’s backs. And when the going got tough, what did I do? I sent her away, far away from the ones who loved her and could keep her safe.
Olezka convinced me it was for the best. He wasn’t used to having a human charge, much less his mate by his side. He thought removing her from the city would keep her protected, but he didn’t know Sixx as well as he wanted to think he did.
“I feel an echo of magic here, but it feels different from ours. It feels more… I don’t know, slippery?” In the place where the phone had dropped, it felt like a tremendous amount of magic had been expended.
There was a shuffling sound, and then a gravelly voice came on the line.
“Exact address.”
I rattled it off, knowing better than to make that hellhound wait.
It took them less than a minute before Olezka was busting through the doors with his black army grade boots, thick army grade pants, and a plain black t-shirt. His hair was tousled as if he had been running his hands through it, which he was doing as he stepped inside Sixx’s childhood home. His nostrils flared and followed the trail to me.
“Her scent is weak.”
Kallan followed the hellhound with his long-legged stride but stopped suddenly as if he hit a wall. Blinking hard, he glanced around the room. “We have a serious problem.”
“I feel it, too,” Olezka said, his lips pressed tightly together.
“You guys feel the need to clue me in?” I snapped.
“Sixx has been taken,” Kallan replied carefully.
“Obviously,” I grumbled, my nerves frayed as I thought about Sixx in the hands of werewolves again. She had been scarred since our first run-in with them back in high school. Sixx had grown a lot over the years, but that was her first real experience with paras and with true violence. She claimed not to be a badass, but she was. I remembered how instrumental she was to my survival over all of the years we’d been together.
“Not by the werewolves,” Olezka growled, sharp hair and fire bursting over his skin. “I will kill whoever took her. Anastasia, who was the male who promised he would come for my mate?”
I cringed. A rare blush crept over my skin as I tried to keep the thoughts out of my head. That threat wasn’t directed at her, it was directed at me. A little tidbit he didn’t know and one I wanted to keep quiet a little longer. But…
“How do you know it wasn’t the werewolves?” I asked, ignoring his question. “We heard them say they were coming after the hacker, and we know Sixx was helping us before all this happened. Plus, I know her well enough to know that she would have brought work with her.”
“It’s not the werewolves,” Olezka growled again, looking like he wanted to punch something. Or rip out someone’s throat with his teeth. He paced the room like a caged animal, his nostrils flaring.
“How could you possibly know?”
“Because I can scent, and no wolves have ever been in this space. More than that, even you can feel the magic in the house.”
“Powerful magic.”
“Enough magic to make a portal,” Kallan interjected.
“You and I both made portals before, and the signature wasn’t this powerful,” I stated stubbornly.
“That’s because someone used this portal to transport her into the Veil.”
My knees locked as shock rushed through me like a tidal wave. Sixx and I had learned Erebus was a Dark fae. Was it him? Who the hell would have taken Sixx into the Veil – a place for paras only where the fae ruled like kings and queens?
“Fuck,” I muttered.
Kallan pawed at the air, trying to discover a bit more about the magic that was used and who it might belong to. As he searched, he explained how more powerful fae would be able to detect each magic user’s unique signature. His expression was bleak when he announced, “Dark fae.”
I made a noise in the back of my throat.
“What do you know that you are not telling me, Anastasia?” Olezka asked, marching over and towering over me with righteous anger. His mate was in danger, which I knew paras took very seriously but no more than this one right here. Even though he was a fearsome hell beast, I saw how gentle he was with Sixx and how he became a different male around her.
“That she might have been taken because of me.”
Chapter 8
Sixx
My head pounded, and the acid taste of bile flooded my mouth. The last thing I recalled was a pair of black boots in front of me before the world went black. Blinking hard, I groaned and tasted… dirt? Placing my hands under me, I lifted myself and, sure as heck, realized I was face down in the dirt.
“What in the…?” All I could remember was those boots. I’d passed out right after but wondered if my abductor had taken me into the woods. The closest forest was miles and miles away from where my parents lived, considering they resided in a large subdivision situated in the middle of a good-sized town. Also, why kidnap me and then drop me in the middle of nowhere?
While the questions filled my head, one answer I wanted to avoid kept coming back to me. It was entirely possible that the pack of werewolves had found me. As excited as I was to find a lead for my friends, I didn’t use proper precautions by hiding my IP address because I didn’t have the appropriate equipment to do it. But why take me to the woods? Were they going to hunt me like the other pack had threatened to do all of those years ago?
My breathing bec
ame choppy, and my mind spun with fear. Chills racked my body, and my teeth chattered. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms and tried to get a handle on my surroundings. I glanced up at the sky, noting that it had darkened as night took over. The sparkling lights of the stars grounded me, and I tried to calm my racing heart, but the more I turned, searching, craning my neck back, the more my panic grew. Stars, stars, stars, but no moon.
“What the…?” Don’t panic. Don’t…
Snap.
“Shit.” My brain went blank. Only one thought, one instinct drove me.
Run.
So, that was how I ended up running blindly through a forest I couldn’t see, from something or someone chasing me. My trek winded me, leaving me a sweaty, exhausted mess. My heart slammed in my chest when I could have sworn I felt the heat of my pursuer brush against my back.
“Cолнышко.”
I stopped. Incredibly stupid, yes. But I had been around Olezka long enough to know when someone spoke Russian.
“Run,” a demonic voice hissed in my ear. His breath brushed against my neck, and I practically felt sharp-tipped claws on my hips. I squeaked, unable to help myself, and took off once more. Was Russian a more common language than I realized?
If they were trying to lull me into a false sense of security, they almost had me for a moment. The trees around me didn’t look like the ones that decorated my home state. These trees were far too big, lush, and beautiful as they reached thick boughs to the sky.
My hair became tangled in the branches as I raced past, but I didn’t slow when they tugged at my skull. My heart hammered in my chest, and I got a stitch in my side, but even as I gripped it, I kept stumbling forward. I wanted to curse Ana and Olezka for not pushing me harder in training because it probably would have been helpful right about now since I was running for my life and all.
I closed my eyes and continued to press on. My legs were burning, and my thighs itched. I wanted to stop, needed to stop, but knew I shouldn’t. I breathed through my nose and tried to convince myself that Olezka and Ana would find me. They would. I just needed to keep moving.
The Sidekick Chronicles: Sixx and the Fae Page 5